These are the finalists for 'European Car of the Year 2015'

The list of candidates to receive the award of ‘European Car of the Year 2015’ was published in July. At that time there were 31 contenders for this prize, but now the list has been reduced to just 7 finalists from which the winner of this distinction will emerge.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, Citroën C4 Cactus, Ford Mondeo, Mercedes C-Class, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Passat are the seven models vying for the award. A jury composed of 58 specialist journalists from 22 countries (6 of them Spanish) will choose the winner, which will be announced on 2 March 2015 at the Geneva Motor Show.

As you can see from the list, there are very different models, so it will be difficult to compare them. The Twingo is celebrating, as it marks 20 years since this model was launched, and it is the smallest of the finalists. The presence of the C4 Cactus also stands out, a model that is seen more and more on our roads and does not go unnoticed thanks to its distinctive design, in which the side airbumps stand out. This model is creating a good buzz and has already been named car of the year in other votes.

The Ford Mondeo, the Mercedes C-Class and the Volkswagen Passat are more classic models in the saloon segment, while in the SUV segment we have the Nissan Qashqai, which is in its second generation and comes in both 4×4 and 4×2 versions, as well as the one we tested at Highmotor a few months ago.

We also tested the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, a model that arrived with great anticipation as it was the first MPV from BMW seeking a presence in a market segment that accounts for a significant share of sales.

Last year this award went to the Peugeot 308. Which model do you think will take the prize this year?